William Gale Vinton (November 17, 1947 – October 4, 2018) was an American animator and filmmaker. Vinton was best known for his

Claymation Clay animation or claymation, sometimes plasticine animation, is one of many forms of stop-motion animation. Each animated piece, either character or background, is "deformable"—made of a malleable substance, usually plasticine clay. Tra ...

work, alongside creating iconic characters such as The California Raisins. He won an

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology) ...

for his work alongside several

Emmy Awards The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

and Clio Awards for his studio's work.

Life and education

Vinton was born on November 17, 1947, to a car dealer father and a bookkeeper mother in McMinnville, Oregon. During the 1960s, Vinton studied physics,

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings ...

and

filmmaking Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, cast ...

at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant un ...

, where he was influenced by the work of

Antoni Gaudí Antoni Gaudí i Cornet (; ; 25 June 1852 – 10 June 1926) was a Catalan architect from Spain known as the greatest exponent of Catalan Modernism. Gaudí's works have a highly individualized, ''sui generis'' style. Most are located in Barcel ...

. During this time, Vinton made a

black-and-white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...

feature-length A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...

about the

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

counter-culture movement titled ''Gone for a Better Deal'', which toured college campuses in various film festivals of the time. Two more films about student protest followed, ''Berkeley Games'' and ''First Ten Days'', as well a narrative short ''Reply'', and his first

animation Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most ani ...

, ''Culture Shock''. Vinton received his bachelor's degree in architecture from UC Berkeley in 1970.

Career

Collaboration with Bob Gardiner

Meeting clay animator Bob Gardiner in the

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and E ...

, area in the early 1970s, Vinton brought him to Portland and they commandeered Vinton's home basement to make a quick 1½-minute test film of

clay animation Clay animation or claymation, sometimes plasticine animation, is one of many forms of stop-motion animation. Each animated piece, either character or background, is "deformable"—made of a malleable substance, usually plasticine clay. Tra ...

(and the supporting armatures) called ''Wobbly Wino'', completed in early 1973. Gardiner refined his sculpting and animation techniques while Vinton built a system for animating his Bolex Rex-5 16mm camera and they began work in mid-1973 on an 8-minute

16mm 16 mm film is a historically popular and economical gauge of film. 16 mm refers to the width of the film (about inch); other common film gauges include 8 and 35 mm. It is generally used for non-theatrical (e.g., industrial, edu ...

short film about a drunk wino who stumbles into a closed

art museum An art museum or art gallery is a building or space for the display of art, usually from the museum's own collection. It might be in public or private ownership and may be accessible to all or have restrictions in place. Although primarily co ...

and interacts with the

painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and a ...

s and

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable ...

s. Completed in late 1974 after 14 months of production, the film combined Gardiner's sculpting skills and comedy writing talent with Vinton's camera skills. ''

Closed Mondays ''Closed Mondays'' is an eight-minute clay animation film, created by Bob Gardiner and filmed by Will Vinton in 1974. It was produced by Lighthouse Productions, released by Pyramid Films in the United States, and won the Academy Award for Best ...

'' won an

Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film The Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film is an award given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) as part of the annual Academy Awards, or Oscars, since the 5th Academy Awards (with different names), covering the year 1 ...

in the spring of 1975, the first film produced in Portland to do so. Vinton and Gardiner parted ways during the production of their second short film, ''Mountain Music'' completed by Vinton in 1976. Gardiner focused on producing PSA spots for local political issues (eventually evolving into other artistic media such as music and holograms) while Vinton established Will Vinton Productions (later Will Vinton Studios) in Portland to capitalize on the animation technology Gardiner had developed for their animated short ''Closed Mondays''. Quickly expanding his studio by hiring new animators, Vinton produced dozens of commercials for regional and then national companies.

Will Vinton Productions

Going solo

Still with only a handful of animators, Vinton produced a

trilogy A trilogy is a set of three works of art that are connected and can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, and video games, and are less common in other art forms. Three-part wor ...

of 27-minute

fairy tales A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic (paranormal), magic, incantation, enchantments, and mythical ...

in the late 1970s and early 1980s, ''Martin the Cobbler'' (1977), the Oscar-nominated ''

Rip Van Winkle "Rip Van Winkle" is a short story by the American author Washington Irving, first published in 1819. It follows a Dutch-American villager in colonial America named Rip Van Winkle who meets mysterious Dutchmen, imbibes their liquor and falls aslee ...

'' (1978), and ''The Little Prince'' (1979). These films were later released theatrically under the umbrella title ''Trilogy'', and later to video as ''The Little Prince and Friends''. In 1978, Vinton produced the documentary ''Claymation: Three Dimensional Clay Animation'' a 17-minute film featuring the behind-the-scenes technical processes used. The term "claymation" was later trademarked by Vinton, and has become synonymous with

in general.

35mm years

Graduating to

35mm 35 mm may refer to: * 135 film, a type of still photography format commonly referred to as 35 mm film * 35 mm movie film 35 mm film is a film gauge used in filmmaking, and the film standard. In motion pictures that record on fi ...

film, Vinton produced other short films during this time: ''Legacy'' (1979), ''

Dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...

'' (1980), ''The Creation'' (directed by Joan Gratz, 1981, Oscar nominated), ''The Great Cognito'' (directed by Barry Bruce, 1982, Oscar nominated), ''A Christmas Gift'', and the music video ''Vanz Kant Danz'' (1987) for

Creedence Clearwater Revival Creedence Clearwater Revival, also referred to as Creedence and CCR, was an American rock band formed in El Cerrito, California. The band initially consisted of lead vocalist, lead guitarist, and primary songwriter John Fogerty; his brother, ...

John Fogerty John Cameron Fogerty (born May 28, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. Together with Doug Clifford, Stu Cook, and his brother Tom Fogerty, he founded the band Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR), for which he was the lead s ...

. VHS video compilations of these films were released in the 1980s as ''Festival of Claymation'' and ''Son of Combo II''. Vinton, no longer performing animation himself, later produced special effects scenes for TV shows and movies, including a sequence for

Bette Midler Bette Midler (;'' Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American singer, actress, comedian and author. Throughout her career, which spans over five decades, Midler has received numerous accolades, including four Golden ...

's '' Divine Madness!'' movie (1980), an Emmy-winning sequence for the ''

Moonlighting Moonlighting may refer to: * Side job, a job taken in addition to one's primary employment Entertainment * ''Moonlighting'' (film), a 1982 drama film by Jerzy Skolimowski * ''Moonlighting'' (TV series), 1985–1989 American television series, s ...

'' TV series (1987), and the opening & closing title sequences for the feature comedy film ''

Brain Donors ''Brain Donors'' is a 1992 American comedy film directed by Dennis Dugan and released by Paramount Pictures, loosely based on the Marx Brothers comedies '' A Night at the Opera'' and '' A Day at the Races'' (the first two films the Marx Brother ...

'' (1992). His company's animation effects for

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

's ''

Return to Oz ''Return to Oz'' is a 1985 dark fantasy film released by Walt Disney Pictures, co-written and directed by Walter Murch. It stars Nicol Williamson, Jean Marsh, Piper Laurie, and Fairuza Balk as Dorothy Gale in her first screen role. The film ...

'' (1985) were also nominated for a special effects Oscar. In May 1985, Will Vinton Productions released their first and only theatrical film '' The Adventures of Mark Twain''. Following his work on ''Return to Oz'', Vinton was hired by the Disney studio to produce animation effects for their

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the " King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over ...

Disneyland Disneyland is a theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney initially envisio ...

- EPCOT Center film, ''

Captain EO ''Captain EO'' is a 1986 American 3D science fiction short film shown at Disney theme parks from 1986 through 1998. The movie stars Michael Jackson, was written by George Lucas, and directed by Francis Ford Coppola (who came up with the name "C ...

'' in 1986 and the '' Speed Demon'' music video for Michael Jackson's musical anthology feature-length film, ''

Moonwalker ''Moonwalker'' is a 1988 American experimental anthology musical film starring Michael Jackson. Rather than featuring one continuous narrative, the film expresses the influence of fandom and innocence through a collection of short films about J ...

'' (1988). Prominent among his hundreds of now international commercial creations were the

California Raisins The California Raisins were a fictional rhythm and blues animated musical group as well as advertising and merchandising characters composed of anthropomorphized raisins. Lead vocals were sung by musician Buddy Miles. The California Raisins ...

, the

Domino's Pizza Domino's Pizza, Inc., trading as Domino's, is an American multinational pizza restaurant chain founded in 1960 and led by CEO Russell Weiner. The corporation is Delaware domiciled and headquartered at the Domino's Farms Office Park in Ann Arbor ...

Noid The Noid is an advertising character for Domino's Pizza created in the 1980s and revived in 2021. Clad in a red, skin-tight, rabbit-eared body suit with a black N inscribed in a white circle on his chest, the Noid was a physical manifestation of ...

, and the

M&M's M&M's (stylized as m&m's) are multi-colored button-shaped chocolates, each of which has the letter "m" printed in lower case in white on one side, consisting of a candy shell surrounding a filling which varies depending upon the variety of M&M ...

Red, Yellow, Blue, Green and Crispy (Orange) characters. The California Raisins' first big hit was the song "

I Heard It Through the Grapevine "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" is a song written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong for Motown Records in 1966. The first recording of the song to be released was produced by Whitfield for Gladys Knight & the Pips and released as a ...

" in the first of their series of TV spots for the

California Raisin Advisory Board The California Raisin Advisory Board (or CALRAB) was a California state marketing commission based in Fresno, California that was created in the mid-1900s to coordinate the regulation and promotion of the state's raisin crop. The group became most ...

. They became such a media phenomenon that they went on to star in their own pair of

primetime Prime time or the peak time is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for a television show. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...

specials for

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

television, ''Meet the Raisins'' (1988), ''The Raisins Sold Out'' (1990), and a cel-animated show, '' The California Raisins Show''. A couple of music albums of songs from the specials, produced by Nu Shooz pop rock band leader John Smith were also released. CBS also commissioned three more prime-time specials, '' Will Vinton's Claymation Christmas Celebration'' (1987), '' Claymation Comedy of Horrors'' (1991), and '' Claymation Easter'' (1992). ''Will Vinton's Claymation Christmas Celebration'' and ''Claymation Easter'' won a

Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...

for Outstanding Animated Program. Claymation Comedy of Horrors was nominated for this category, but lost to ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, ...

''. All were later released to video and DVD. In the 1990s, a variety of Vinton's 400 + animators and technicians helped with new creations and films of their own using the Vinton facilities called the ''Walkabout Program''.

Craig Bartlett Craig Michael Bartlett (born October 18, 1956) is an American animator, best known for writing, directing, creating and producing the Nickelodeon television series ''Hey Arnold!'' and the PBS Kids television series ''Dinosaur Train'' and '' Read ...

created his short film ''Arnold Escapes From Church'' (1988) and generated two more clay-animated short films, ''The Arnold Waltz'' (1990) and ''Arnold Rides a Chair'' (1991), each would later spawned ''

Hey Arnold! ''Hey Arnold!'' is an American animated comedy television series created by Craig Bartlett. It originally aired on Nickelodeon from October 7, 1996, to June 8, 2004. The show centers on fourth grader Arnold Shortman, who lives with his grandpar ...

'', a cel-animated series for

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Group. It ...

in 1996.

Computer animation

The mid-1990s also saw Vinton adding computer animation to his output, used most visibly for his M&M's character commercials. A short CGI film, ''Fluffy'', directed by Doug Aberle, was created during this time. Other CGI films—some combined with clay and stop-motion animation—soon followed. Vinton contributed to a consumer-grade computer animation application called '' Playmation'', developed by Hash, Inc., a computer animation company in Vancouver, Washington. Vinton and associates also dabbled in animation for the internet with a series called ''Ozzie the Elf''.

Switch from Claymation to Foamation

During the late 1990s and early 2000s, the Vinton Studios produced the animated series ''

The PJs ''The PJs'' is an American adult animated stop-motion black sitcom created by Eddie Murphy, Larry Wilmore, and Steve Tompkins. It portrayed life in an urban public housing project, modeled after the Cabrini–Green housing projects in Chicago. ...

'' for the FOX TV network. The series was conceived and executive-produced by actor and comedian

Eddie Murphy Edward Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and singer. He rose to fame on the sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'', for which he was a regular cast member from 1980 to 1984. Murphy has als ...

. Another animated series was produced for the

UPN The United Paramount Network (UPN) was an American broadcast television network that launched on January 16, 1995. It was originally owned by Chris-Craft Industries' United Television. Viacom (through its Paramount Television unit, which pr ...

TV network by the Vinton studio, '' Gary and Mike'', now a cult favorite. ''Gary and Mike'' was shot using digital video capture system developed for the production by two Vinton engineers Miegel Ginsberg and Gary McRobert. Both series used a refinement in Vinton's style of dimensional animation. Most of the clay figures were replaced by models of moulded foam rubber, eliminating many of the limitations, and maintenance issues, that are inherent with clay, which had been developed by Vinton and his technical teams as far as it could go. Vinton soon coined a new term for this process, ''Foamation''. The studio also produced an unaired pilot for Slacker Cats in 2001.

Decline

By the end of the 1990s, the Vinton studio, seeking funds for more feature-length films, had become big enough to bring in outside investors, which included Nike, Inc., founder Phil Knight and his son, Travis, who had worked at the studio as an animator. In spring of 2001, the studio's animated shows, ''

'' and '' Gary and Mike'' were cancelled with the latter only airing 13 episodes. In 2002, Vinton lost control of the studio he founded after Knight became the majority shareholder and Vinton failed to garner funds for further feature production in Los Angeles, eventually being dismissed from the studio. Vinton later sought damages for this and sued for ownership of his name. In 2005, Will Vinton Studios was rebranded as

Laika Laika (russian: link=no, Лайка; – 3 November 1957) was a Soviet space dog who was one of the first animals in space and the first to orbit the Earth. A stray mongrel from the streets of Moscow, she flew aboard the Sputnik 2 space ...

. Premiere stop-motion animator/director Henry Selick joined the studio as a supervising director. The studio currently produces theatrical films such as ''

Coraline ''Coraline'' () is a dark fantasy horror children's novella by British author Neil Gaiman. Gaiman started writing ''Coraline'' in 1990, and it was published in 2002 by Bloomsbury and HarperCollins. It was awarded the 2003 Hugo Award for Best ...

'', ''

ParaNorman ''ParaNorman'' is a 2012 American stop-motion animated comedy horror film directed by Sam Fell and Chris Butler (the latter's feature directorial debut), and written by Butler. Produced by Laika, the film stars the voices of Kodi Smit-McPhee, ...

'', ''

The Boxtrolls ''The Boxtrolls'' is a 2014 American stop-motion animated fantasy comedy film directed by Graham Annable and Anthony Stacchi (in their feature directorial debuts) loosely based on the 2005 novel ''Here Be Monsters!'' by Alan Snow. It is produc ...

'', ''

Kubo and the Two Strings ''Kubo and the Two Strings'' is a 2016 American stop-motion animated action fantasy film produced by Laika. It is directed by Travis Knight (in his feature directorial debut) with a screenplay by Marc Haimes and Chris Butler from a story by Sh ...

'', and '' Missing Link''.

Aftermath

Vinton later founded a new production facility, Will Vinton's Free Will Entertainment, also based in Portland. In 2005, Vinton produced ''The Morning After'', the first short film under the new company. The film combines CGI and

live action Live action (or live-action) is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live-action with animation to create a live-action animated film. Live-action is used to define film, video ...

. He also taught at the Portland branch of

The Art Institutes The Art Institutes (AI) are a collection of private for-profit art schools in the United States. Since 2019, the schools have been owned by Education Principle Foundation (aka Colbeck Foundation), a non-profit that also owns South Universi ...

and maintained an office there as an artist in residence. Vinton created a

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwo ...

titled ''The Kiss'', an adaptation of

The Frog Prince "The Frog Prince; or, Iron Henry" (german: Der Froschkönig oder der eiserne Heinrich, literally "The Frog King or the Iron Henry") is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm and published in 1812 in ''Grimm's Fairy Tales'' (KHM 1). ...

with music by

David Pomeranz David Pomeranz (born February 9, 1951) is an American singer, composer, lyricist, and writer for musical theatre. He is also an ambassador for Operation Smile. Solo career Born and raised on Long Island, Pomeranz expressed interest in music from ...

that premiered on March 24, 2014, in Lake Oswego, Oregon. The

Creative Artists Agency Creative Artists Agency LLC (CAA) is an American talent and sports agency based in Los Angeles, California. It is regarded as an influential company in the talent agency business and manages numerous clients. In March 2016, CAA had 1,800 emplo ...

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. ...

represented Vinton for production projects, which included a graphic novel called ''Jack Hightower'' produced in tandem with

Dark Horse Comics Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, and manga publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, Oregon comic book shops know ...

Illness, retirement, and death

In 2006, Vinton was diagnosed with

multiple myeloma Multiple myeloma (MM), also known as plasma cell myeloma and simply myeloma, is a cancer of plasma cells, a type of white blood cell that normally produces antibodies. Often, no symptoms are noticed initially. As it progresses, bone pain, ...

and retired in 2008 from producing films. He died in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous ...

, on October 4, 2018, after a 12-year battle from the disease at the age of 70. He was the subject of the documentary film, ''Claydream'' which was directed by Marq Evans and released at the 2021

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Productions. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. Tribeca was f ...

Work

Feature films

* ''Gone for a Better Deal'' (1974) – director, producer (live-action documentary) * ''

'' (1985) – claymation director, producer (Academy Award Nominee) * '' The Adventures of Mark Twain'' (1985) – director, producer (''Comet Quest'': UK: video title) * ''

Shadow Play Shadow play, also known as shadow puppetry, is an ancient form of storytelling and entertainment which uses flat articulated cut-out figures (shadow puppets) which are held between a source of light and a translucent screen or scrim. The cut-ou ...

'' (1986) – producer (live-action thriller) * ''Festival of Claymation'' (1987) – director, producer (compilation of short films) * ''

'' (1988) – segment director, producer: '' Speed Demon'' by

* ''

'' (1992) – segment director (intro and outro) * ''

The Wild ''The Wild'' is a 2006 American computer-animated adventure comedy film directed by animator Steve "Spaz" Williams and written by Ed Decter, John J. Strauss, Mark Gibson and Philip Halprin. It features the voices of Eddie Izzard, Kiefer Sutherl ...

'' (2006) – executive producer

TV series

* ''

The California Raisin Show ''The California Raisin Show'' is a 1989 American animated television series based on the claymation advertising characters '' The California Raisins''. The show is based on the claymation special, '' Meet the Raisins!'', which originally aired o ...

'', TV Series 23:00 × 13 (executive producer) * ''Klay's TV'', TV Series Pilot (director, executive producer) * 5 Cecille shorts for ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000 ...

'', 1:30 min. (producer) * ''

Adventures in Wonderland ''Adventures in Wonderland'' is a 1992–1995 American live-action/ puppet musical television series based on the novels ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865) and ''Through the Looking-Glass'' (1871) by Lewis Carroll as well as the 1951 a ...

'' (Caterpillar's Stories), 4 min. × 30 (executive producer) * ''Hammer Time'' short for ''

'' * ''

'', TV Series 23:00 × 52 (executive producer)

Winner * ''Boyer Brother'', TV Series Pilot (executive producer) * ''

Gary & Mike ''Gary & Mike'' is an American adult animated buddy comedy sitcom that aired on UPN in 2001 and Comedy Central in 2003. It was Big Ticket Television’s first animated show. The show was produced in stop motion clay animation and lasted only on ...

'', TV Series 23:00 × 13 (executive producer)

Nominee * '' Slacker Cats'', TV Series Pilot (executive producer)

TV specials

* '' Will Vinton's Claymation Christmas Celebration'' (1987), 24 min. (director, producer) Prime-time Emmy Winner * ''

Meet the Raisins! ''Meet the Raisins!'' is a 1988 claymation television special directed by Barry Bruce, featuring the advertising characters The California Raisins. The show was broadcast November 4, 1988, on the U.S. television network CBS during primetime. It ...

'' (1988), 24:00 (executive producer, producer) Prime-time Emmy Nominated * '' The Raisins: Sold Out! The California Raisins II'' (1990), 24:00 (director, producer) Prime-time Emmy Nominated * '' Claymation Comedy of Horrors'' (1991), 24:00 (executive producer, producer) Prime-time Emmy Winner * '' Claymation Easter'' (1992), 24:00 (executive producer, producer) Prime-time Emmy Winner

Short films

* ''Wobbly Wino'', 2 min. (director, producer) * ''Culture Shock'', 17 min. (co-director, producer) * ''

'' (1974), 9 min. (co-director) Academy Award Winner *
Mountain Music
' (1976), 9 min. (director, producer) * ''Martin the Cobbler'' (1977), 26 min. (director, producer) * ''Claymation'' (1978), documentary, 18 min. (director, producer) *
Rip Van Winkle
' (1978), 26 min. (director, producer) Academy Award Nominee * ''The Little Prince'' (1979), 25 min. (director, producer) * ''Legacy: A Very Short History of Natural Resources'' (1979), 7 min. (director, producer) * ''

'' (1980), 17 min. (director, producer) * ''A Christmas Gift'' (1980), 7 min. (director, producer) *
Creation
' (1981), 7:36 (director, producer) Academy Award Nominee * ''

The Great Cognito ''The Great Cognito'' is a 1982 Oscar-nominated claymation short directed by Will Vinton. Plot A monologist talks about war, adopting the faces of World War II-era figures. Accolades *1983: Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short F ...

'' (1982), 5 min. (director, producer) Academy Award Nominee * ''The Diary of Adam and Eve'', 24 min. (director, producer) * ''Vanz Kant Danz'' (

music video) (1985), 6 min. (director, producer) * ''Mr. Resistor'' (1994), 8 min. (executive producer) * ''Zerox and Mylar'' (1995), 5 min. (executive producer) * ''

Marvin the Martian in the Third Dimension ''Marvin the Martian in the Third Dimension'' (also titled ''Marvin the Martian in 3D'' and ''Marvin the Martian in 4D'') is a 3-D Looney Tunes film formerly an attraction at Drayton Manor Resort in Drayton Bassett, Staffordshire, England, W ...

'' (1996), 13 min. (producer) * ''Bride of Resistor'' (1997), 6 min. (executive producer) * ''The Stars Came Dreaming'' (1998), 12 min. (executive producer) * ''Go Down Death'', 10 min. (director, producer) * ''The Lost 'M' Adventure'' (3-D short film featuring the M&M's characters) (2000), 12 min. (executive producer) * ''Día de los Muertos'' (''Day of the Dead'') (2002), 8 min. (executive producer) * ''The Morning After'' (2005), 7:30 (director, producer) * ''The Martial Artist'' (2007), 20 min. (director, producer, writer)

Musical theatre

* ''The Kiss'' (2014), (director, producer)

References

External links

Vinton EntertainmentFree Will Entertainmentwillvinton.net
Will Vinton's Claymation and Stopmotion Animation Site * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vinton, Will 1947 births 2018 deaths People from McMinnville, Oregon Animators from Oregon Directors of Best Animated Short Academy Award winners Computer animation people Clay animators Film producers from Oregon Film directors from Oregon Deaths from multiple myeloma Producers who won the Best Animated Short Academy Award UC Berkeley College of Environmental Design alumni

Life and education

Career

Collaboration with Bob Gardiner

Will Vinton Productions

Going solo

35mm years

Computer animation

Switch from Claymation to Foamation

Decline

Aftermath

Illness, retirement, and death

Archive

Work

Feature films

TV series

TV specials

Short films

Musical theatre

References

External links